Page 9 of A Very Grumpy Firefighter

What am I going to do about Milo? I still can’t figure out why he bid on me. There were other women up for auction too. Why would he pick me?

What am I supposed to do now?

I need to see him. We need to talk.

I finish with my plants and then head into my bedroom to get dressed. It’s cold this morning so I pull on my favorite blue sweater and dark wash jeans. I need to be at the bookstore later today so I’ll have to hurry if I want to catch Milo before I head to work.

I grab my things and head out the door. I’m not sure where Milo might be. I don’t think that he’s at the fire station today, but I could be wrong.

I head towards the fire station when Milo’s black truck drives by me and then slams on his brakes. He pulls over to the curb, and I turn to face him.

“Lilou,” he says and for a moment, we both stare at each other.

He smiles at me as he closes his door and heads my way, and I look around, trying to figure out a good place to have this conversation.

He stops by my side, and I grab his hand and drag him around the corner to a side street.

“So,” he starts, and I swallow hard.

“Why are you doing this?” I blurt out, and his smile falters.

“Doing what?”

“Why are you marrying me?” I clarify.

“I’m not about to watch you be someone else’s wife.”

My heart kicks hard against my ribs, but I try not to read too much into his words.

“What do you mean?” I ask before I can get ahead of myself or start fantasizing about this being more than it is.

“You can’t marry a stranger. The guy could be a weirdo or dangerous. You shouldn’t have been on that site,” he tells me, and I relax.

See, he’s not into me. He’s just a good guy who was trying to protect me. That makes sense.

It still hurts, though.

Just remember that this is an arranged marriage.

I didn’t want to admit it, I guess, but I was secretly hoping that he wanted me too.

“Why do you want to marry me?” I ask him.

“I,” he starts before he trails off. “I have my reasons.”

I want to press him and find out why he needs a wife and why he picked me, but maybe it’s better if I don’t know.

“I need to get to work soon,” I tell him, and he nods, stepping back from me.

“I’ll walk you.”

I nod and we start to head towards Shelf Indulgence. As we walk, I try to secretly study him out of the corner of my eye.

He’s so handsome…and he’s about to be my husband.

This is crazy. I should tell him to forget about the whole thing and find a different way to cover the costs. Maybe there are payment plans or something. Although, I might not qualify for them.

“What are you thinking?” Milo asks as we walk, and I blink, looking over at him.

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